Someone needs to get a memo up to Mother Nature and let her know that it’s supposed to be June, not March. After sweltering 90 degree heat on Friday we’ve been, in a very New England kind of way, sent back to early spring with cold rainy days in the 50s. That’s just wrong on so many levels. Thankfully it’s been one of those weekends in motion where weather is kind of but not really noticed, except for granddaughter time which meant decibel levels at my son’s house were in the record spectrum this morning. But I digress, before we get to the most excellent time we had up in New Hampshire I’ve got to recount the zombie dance we witnessed on Friday night.
Friday Night at Halligans
The
Neighborhood Mafioso is our Worcester social scene guru. A lifelong resident of
Worcester, she is plugged into all aspects of the social scene around town.
This is one of the most compelling reasons we decided to finally put down some
roots here. Anyways, she proclaimed that we weren’t going to the Auburn legion
hall to dance this past Friday because she got a line on an excellent band,
with dancing, at another place in Auburn. I’ve driven by Halligans literally hundreds
of time since I moved to Massachusetts since it is on the way to Charlton where
we lived for ten years. It sits back from Rt 20 and looks fairly non-descript,
more like a biker bar than a “go to” kind of place. We have infinite confidence
in the Mafioso though so we arrived around 630pm to find the bar deserted. It
was just a test though as the bartender assured us we got there just before the
tidal wave. People show up an hour before the band starts, especially this
band, to get seats in the dance hall, adjacent to the bar. That turned out to
be true as the place was full a half hour later. We paid a cover charge and the
ladies snuck into the hall to claim our seats.
With our Guru and her Husband Friday Night
For the first time in a lot of Fridays,
we were not the youngest people at the place. That was okay because you know we
exude gravitas, well, okay, that’s mostly my Favorite Panamanian and the Mafioso.
Now, to the zombies. The band was very good and we had a fantastic time
dancing. There was a carpeted place between the stage and the dance floor which
was kind of weird but okay. When the band started up the carpeted area was
quickly filled with about eight rows of people who danced in place (not with
each other) while facing and staring at the band. It was a little spooky but
that area was filled all night, I guess they’re the band’s groupies. This had
the added benefit of pushing the people who wanted to dance with partners far
enough back that we were on the actual dance floor. It was yet another great
night hanging with our best Worcester friends/neighbors. 
Zombies on the Left in Front of Band
Pre-Recital Hair Appointment
Saturday dawned a little early after
Friday’s exertions as we had to hit the road early to arrive in time for the
dance recital of the BRS and BR3. I had been dreading this all week as friends
filled me with horror stories about sitting through hours of the same song and
dance as different classes make their way through the recital. I had a couple
former co-workers stop by for a couple Deckzilla brews Thursday afternoon. They
seemed to have fun inflicting these representations on me. Friends. We arrived early
enough that my Favorite Panamanian assisted the ABFA with the hair and makeup
prep, which I learned is an important step. The two sprites were transformed into
absolute visions. 
Transformed
Just Before Gametime 
BRS (3rd from left) and BR3 (to her left) 
Checking with Big Sis
We drove to the town’s Middle School
where my worries grew exponentially. For a small town the place as inundated
with parents and other sprites. People had to park on the grass despite the
huge parking lots which were chock full. I thought I was in for hours of pain
just to see the five minutes my granddaughters would be on stage. We were
joined by the ABFA’s parents so at least I would be sharing my pain with good
friends. I was steeling myself for the expected agony when I found myself completely
captured by the show. Each group came on stage and it was beyond cute as each
strove their best to follow the directions of the teachers positioned just below
and in front of the stage. I laughed more than I had in a long time. The time flew
by.
Conquering Heroines
Post Performance Flowers 
C'mon Grandpa, Get with the Program 
With The ABFA's Parents 
Obligatory Parental Shot 
BRS, Star of the Show
My son was a little nervous that BR3
would refuse to join her group on stage as she already sports a very determined
stubbornness. When their group walked on the BRS and her sister were next to
each other and I almost didn’t recognize them as they had been transformed into
mini-ballerinas. The BRS was easily the most elegant dancer in her group and
BR3 gamely tried to keep up, even after an early stumble/fall. It was beyond
cute. When the group was supposed to move to one side and one of their group wasn’t
moving, BR3 lent a forearm to get things on track. I was truly captured and so
proud of both of them. It is so much fun being a granddad at times like this.
We saw them one other time on stage as they joined every other dance group for
a grand finale. It was pure chaos but strangely delightful. The ABFA went to retrieve
the girls while we waited outside. As I walked down a hall, the two girls, sporting
participation medals, spotted me so I was the first to let them know how proud
we all were of them. The ABFA captured that moment in the attached video.
Very Proud Momma
After escaping the aforementioned parking lot we made our way to the home of the conquering heroes where the plaudits continued to rain down on the dancers. We decided to celebrate with a family dinner out featuring the dancers, parents, and all four grandparents. The girls were perfect on a very long wait for our food. The ABFA knows the 110 Grill ladies’ room more intimately than she ever hoped as the granddaughters quickly figured out they could escape the boredom of the dinner table by telling their mom they had to “go potty”. It was a fun night which is usually the case when we hang with our co-grandparents. We were lucky enough to spend the night at my son’s house which meant an hojaldra breakfast and lots of grandad chasing the granddaughters, hence the aforementioned decibel levels. BR3 kept a close eye on the rain and insisted we could outside between showers. This worked for the first couple times however we were fully engulfed by one quick hitting shower which was so funny as we dashed towards the house, completely soaked.
Chaotic Finale 
Still Proud Momma 
Dinner Last Night 
Between Potty Breaks 
Proud Dad 
Letting Abuela Paint with Her
Meanwhile, there was a big event down in
New Jersey. Saturday was Wingman’s birthday which meant he received breakfast
in bed as well as the day long admiration he has so richly earned. I haven’t received
a full report on the day but we got a cryptic message last night from my daughter
saying they were heading into the Big Apple for a Seinfeld stand up show. The
FBR was undergoing her first ever sleepover party, yet another indication the
pandemic is finally regressing in parents’ minds. Today they were apparently at
a minor league baseball game where the FBR and my daughter made an appearance on
the scoreboard video screen. So, cool.
Filling Grandpa's Shoes
FBR at Little Mermaid Friday Night 
Wingman Birthday Breakfast 
Last Night 
At the Show
We received the attached video from our
good friends in Panama. I don’t know how they transformed a photo of our group on
the Las Lajas beach into this video but I’m guessing AI was involved. To be
clear, in the real world, I am not allowed to sing in public. It involves a
public safety ordinance, so this is pure fantasy but so funny, especially since
it came from a Yankees fan and he knows this is the Red Sox seventh inning
theme song. Too, frigging funny.
FBR and my Daughter on the Big Screen
Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers, Django Unchained, wild and wonderful Tarantino mind on full display; Doc Hollywood – still wildly in love with Julie Warner; and Doc Sleep – Danny comes home to the Overlook, awesome Stephen King novel brought to life/death.
RECURRING CHARACTERS:
ABFA – Amazing Best Family
Athlete - my daughter
in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter
#3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel -
second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue
about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; Curbside Girls – close
friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which
grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of
course); FBR - First Blog Reader -
first granddaughter; First Friday –
celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene
Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene,
NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend
since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife –
her US sisters, my wife is the 3rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew –
son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia
member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends
of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin
Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we
have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high
school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the
Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather -
my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course
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